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Kenney, who watched from the sidelines, seemed to take heart in one observation: "His tail never stopped wagging in the ring."

Nearby, Joey, the other smooth Dachshund from Monroe, also missed the cut. But afterward, he barked and ran deliriously in circles as his handler, Jeani McKenney, directed a red laser beam along the floor.

"He loves to chase laser lights," McKenney said of Joey, who is owned by Jim and Gail Andreyka.

Marcus, a Wirehaired Dachshund, entered the ring at Madison Square Garden Monday as one of the oldest entries in the Super Bowl of dog shows.

Anthony Cirincione, a breeder from Danbury, entered Marcus, who competes as Ch. Hobarra's The Gladiator,

Marcus, who will turn 9 in July, seemed to have the spry shades of Stump, a 10-year-old Sussex spaniel who last year became the oldest dog to win Westminster.

On Sunday, Marcus won the Veteran's award at the Knickerbocker Dachshund Club Specialty Show, held at a hotel across from Madison Square Garden.

But on Monday, all Marcus came away with was a hug from a proud Cirincione.

"The fact that he's 9, he showed the young guys how to do it," he said.

Marcus' 5-year-old nephew, Orion, also did not advance.

Moments before entering the ring Monday, Stamford dog owner and breeder Donna Gilbert summed up the philosophy of many of the competitors.

"If you're going to do this for 20 years, you have to love losing as much as winning," she said, standing beside Reggie, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi. "You have to get used to losing graciously." But as the moment drew closer, she added with an exhilarated smile, "But it's not what we came for."

With that, she proceeded to lead Reggie under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, where he would be judged against 15 dogs of the same breed.

Reggie, whose official name is Ch. Milestone Regatta, seemed to handle the spotlight well, jogging sprightly around the ring. As the audience of 20,000 alternately clapped, whooped and hollered for their favorite canines, the 4-year-old kept his doe eyes focused straight ahead.

Though Reggie would not win anything on this day, he succeeded in making the final round of about eight Corgis.

Afterward, Gilbert received a flurry of e-mails from friends who spotted her on the live television broadcast.

"People know about the dogs," she said. "So no, I'm not just that crazy dog lady."

On Monday at least, being crazy about dogs was perhaps the rule, not the exception.

The competition began at 8 a.m. with 2,500 dogs representing 173 different breeds. It will culminate at 11 p.m. Tuesday when a judge declares the 2010 Best in Show.

Connecticut was well-represented, with about 125 scheduled entries.

Among them, a Rhodesian ridgeback from Greenwich was awarded Best in Breed, earning it a spot in the Best in Group contest Monday night. As 4-year-old Ikaika bounded around Ring 4 in the morning competition, Greenwich resident Sonnet McKinnon was hundreds of miles away, getting updates via cell phone.

McKinnon and her husband, Ian, didn't see their dog win his breed, having scheduled a family vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands for the holiday weekend, but they heard the good news almost instantly.

A friend, Kit Byron, stood on the sidelines snapping pictures with his cell phone, and sending frequent text messages to the Greenwich couple, who co-own Ikaika with Barbara and Tom Peach of Haleiwa, Hawaii.

After surpassing more than 40 other Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Ikaika went on to challenge the 22 other Best in Breed winners in the hound group Monday night, but failed to place.

Ikaika lives with his handler, Pam Lambie, in San Diego, Calif., so the McKinnons see him only occasionally. Their 11-year-old male Ridgeback, Gatsby, who won his breed twice at Westminster and took second place in the 2004 hound group competition, sired Ikaika.

"I co-own (Ikaika) so that I can oversee his show career and help with the financing of the advertising and travel," Sonnet McKinnon wrote in an e-mail Monday. "It's always fun to see (Gatsby's) puppies in the ring."

Ikaika and another Ridgeback named Evie, also sired by Gatsby and co-owned by the McKinnons, were the only two Greenwich-connected canines to compete at Westminster this year.

Ashley Fischer, from Wilton, had low expectations for her 2-year-old pug Stanley, who competed against about 30 pugs.

"This is an experience year for him," she said.

The scrunched-face pooch was nursing a slight eye injury, which caused him to squint every so often when he faced the lights.

After it was over, Stanley was fast asleep on his crate backstage in the benching area. There, spectators get an opportunity to examine the dogs and pepper owners with questions about the breed.

Both are required to stay and meet with public until 8 p.m., which translates to a 12-hour day for many of them.

To prepare for an 8 a.m showing, Fischer arrived in the staging area at 6 a.m. after riding in a freight elevator reserved for furry occupants and their companions.

Asked what she thinks about before each contest, the six-time Westminster competitor did not hesitate: "Make sure my dog has fun in the ring."